Lagos MWAN urges assist for girls’s inventive abilities

In celebration of International Women’s Day, the Lagos State branch of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria has called for deliberate steps to promote women and girls’ creative and artistic talents.

The association also called for actions to forge women’s economic empowerment, support women and girls in leadership, decision-making, and business processes, help women and girls make informed choices about their health, and provide women and girls with access to quality education and training, among other things.

The IWD, commemorated every March 8, is a day to celebrate women who are committed to advancing women’s equality globally.

This year, 2024, the United Nations campaign theme for the IWD is: Inspire Inclusion with the slogan: Invest in women; accelerate progress.

In a statement made available by the President of MWAN, Lagos State, Dr Funmi Ige said, “When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion and inclusivity, we forge a better world. When we as women inspire to be included, it imbues us with a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.”

She said further that including and partnering with women means openly embracing their diversity, such as race, age, ability, faith, and so on.

The MWAN President stressed the importance of understanding the values and seeking out the inclusion of women and girls in all fields of endeavour worldwide.

She said, “Organisations and groups such as ours – the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch – have a lot of roles to play in inspiring inclusion, be it at home, at work, or in the community.

“We must strive to ensure that the needs, interests, and aspirations of women and girls are valued and incorporated into the scheme of things at all levels. We must, at all times, take action when and where women are not equitably treated; we must call out poor practice when they are discriminated against.

“Imperatively, we must be deliberate about forging women’s economic empowerment, supporting women and girls in leadership, decision-making, and business processes, helping women and girls make informed choices about their health, providing women and girls with access to quality education and training, promoting women’s creative and artistic talents, and addressing areas further supporting the advancement of women and girls.”

She joined the United Nations’ call for action for a more inclusive world for women.

“Let’s all resolve to collectively do all we can to support and advance the causes of women,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Association of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria has called on the federal and state governments to include them in palliative distribution, social investment fund, conditional cash transfer, among others.

The National Coordinator ASWHAN, Esther Hindi, made the call on Friday at the occasion commemorating International Women Day in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Hindi said this year’s theme, ‘Invest in women: Accelerate Progress’ was to empower women with life building skills to reduce their vulnerabilities.

She said, “The International Women’s Day 2024 campaign theme ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress” is a call to Action for investment in women in all sense of belonging.

“It is also a call to accelerate and

value investment in women and girls living with HIV in all diversities to enjoy their rights and live a descent livelihood.

“Therefore, we call on government both national and states to include women living with HIV in social investment fund, conditional cash transfers, include WLWH in palliative distribution and create employment opportunities for WLWH.

“Our women have been working at the facilities as volunteer Mentor Mothers for over 15 years. Let the Ministry of Health help us employ our women”